Alexandra Rousseau, commonly known as Alex, was the biological daughter of Danielle Rousseau and Robert. When she was one week old, she was taken from her mother by Benjamin Linus, who raised her as an Other. While with the Others, Alex helped the survivors on several occasions. Less than a week after reuniting with her mother at age 16, Alex was executed in front of Ben by Martin Keamy, a mercenary employed by Ben's rival Charles Widmore.

In the flash sideways world, Alex lived a normal life in the outside world with her mother. Ben was now her high school history teacher and was, according to Danielle, "the closest thing to a father she's ever had".

Contents

On the Island

Childhood

When Danielle Rousseau arrived on the Island in 1988 she was seven months pregnant with Alex. During a time flash, Jin found himself with Rousseau's Bésixdouze expedition and observed Danielle and Robert talking about their child's name — "Alexandra" if it was a girl, and "Alexandre" if it was a boy. Shortly after, Danielle killed all the remaining members of the science expedition, including Alex's biological father Robert, claiming that they were sick. ("This Place Is Death") Alone, Danielle gave birth to a healthy baby girl, Alexandra.

When Alex was one week old, Benjamin Linus crept into Danielle's tent under the orders to kill her. However Ben changed his mind on the sight of Alex. Ben warned Danielle to run away if she ever heard the whispers. ("Dead Is Dead") Despite this meeting, Danielle claimed never to have seen one of the Others during her first sixteen years on the Island, and used the term interchangeably with "the whispers" at the time she told her story. ("Solitary") ("Exodus, Part 1")

After this encounter, Ben took baby Alex back to the Others' camp. Charles Widmore, leader of the Others at the time, insisted that he kill the child, to which Ben inquired if it was "the will of Jacob". Ben asked Charles to kill her himself, and he looked very put off by the suggestion, declining to do so. Alex was raised by Ben as one of the Others, and she was told that her mother was dead. ("Dead Is Dead")

After the Purge, Alex was brought up with the Others in the Barracks, with Ben acting as a father figure. When Charles Widmore was banished from the Island for having a child with an outsider, he mentioned Alex to Ben. He said that if the Island wanted her dead, she would be dead. Ben still maintained that he did the right thing by saving her. ("Dead Is Dead")

After the crash of Oceanic flight 815

When Sayid was captured by Rousseau, she thought he was an Other and demanded to know, in several different languages, where Alex was. But Sayid, confused, had no answer for her. ("Solitary") About a month later, Rousseau told the survivors at their camp that Alex was her daughter, and that she had been taken by the Others sixteen years earlier, on the same day that there was a plume of black smoke. ("Exodus, Part 1")

Almost a month after the crash of Oceanic Flight 815, Alex saw that the Others had captured a pregnant woman, who she later learned was Claire. She woke Claire up, told her that the Others were planning on taking Claire's child via cesarean section, and showed her the operation room where the surgery was going to take place. Claire started to resist, so Alex drugged her and dragged her out of the Staff, saying Claire would thank her one day. ("Maternity Leave")

Days 51–67 (Season 2)

During the confrontation between the Others and the search party that Jack assembled to find Michael, Tom called out for Alex to bring the captive Kate out to the circle of torches. ("The Hunting Party") Instead, Pickett brought her out; Alex was trying to get Pickett out of earshot so that she could talk to Michael and ask him if Claire had given birth to her baby and whether it was a boy or a girl. Michael was gagged and stunned, so he could not respond. When the others rejoined her, she apologized to Michael and knocked him out. The next day, Alex hiked back with the Others to the decoy village, bringing Michael there to speak with Ms. Klugh about his son. ("Three Minutes")

Days 69–91 (Season 3)

On Jack, Kate and Sawyer's second day on the Hydra island, Alex tried to communicate with Kate while she was working at the runway. Alex asked her about Karl, and if Kate had seen him around the cages area. She commented that Kate was not even supposed to be in the cage she was held captive in. She also remarked that Kate's dress used to belong to her. ("The Glass Ballerina")

Three days later, on the prisoners' sixth day on the Hydra Island, Alex intruded again into the quarry, an area she was not supposed to be in, and attacked two of the Others using a slingshot. She aimed it at Danny, who was aiming a gun at her, demanded to know where "he" was (referring to her boyfriend Karl), and demanded to talk to Ben. Danny refused, and Alex was taken away by one of the Others. Alex cried out to Sawyer and Kate, who were lying on the ground under Danny's orders, that whatever the Others tell them they should not believe. She warned Kate that they would kill her boyfriend, "just like they killed mine". ("I Do")

In the underwater section of the Hydra station, Alex communicated with Jack through the intercom, asking him to "try it, the door", which was usually locked. Jack tried, and the door was open. ("I Do")

Later, before going into surgery, Ben asked Juliet if Alex had asked about him. Juliet said she hadn't and that she didn't know where Alex was, just that she had been taken home the previous night. ("I Do")

The next day, Alex helped Kate and Sawyer to escape from Danny, Ivan and Jason by hiding them in her hideout, right after hitting Jason with a rock. She told them she had a canoe that could get them off the Hydra island, but she would only help them if they would help her to rescue her boyfriend, whom Sawyer identified as Karl. ("Not in Portland")

When they reached a smaller part of the Hydra compound, Alex told them that Karl was being held somewhere inside. She pretended to hold Sawyer and Kate captive, and tried to convince the guard, Aldo, to let them in. He said she was not allowed in, but she used her father (later revealed to be Ben, her foster father) as an item for negotiation. As Aldo called Ben for confirmation, Sawyer attacked him, and Kate knocked him out. ("Not in Portland")

In the facility, the trio found Karl in Room 23, strapped to a chair with goggles, forced to watch what looked like a brainwashing video. They freed Karl and ran to the nearest beach, where Alex's canoe was waiting for them. Danny suddenly appeared, ready to shoot Sawyer, but was shot by Juliet. Before Kate and Sawyer left with Karl, Alex and Karl were briefly reunited. However, Ben, according to Juliet, would never let Karl go if Alex left with him. As a result, after the launch of the canoe, Alex went back to the Hydra with Juliet. ("Not in Portland")

When Isabel took Jack to the office to question him, they passed Alex, who Isabel sweetly, but firmly, suggested should visit her father. Later, Alex broke the camera outside Jack's cage so they wouldn't be watched, and asked Jack why he would help Ben after what Ben did to them. Alex told Jack about Juliet's verdict and told him they are strict about killing their own. She also told Jack that Ben is her dad. Alex released Jack from his cage, and they ran to the operating room where Ben was being treated. While Jack and Ben talked, Alex watched them. Afterward, Alex and Jack stormed over to the deliberation room and stopped Juliet's death sentence. Alex relayed Ben's orders to Isabel. Later the Others left Hydra Island. While on the boat, Alex looked up sadly at the same night sky Karl watched from his camp on the Island. ("Stranger in a Strange Land")

Later, while the Others were back at the Barracks, Locke took Ben hostage. Alex (who lived in Ben's house and referred to him as "Dad") walked into Ben's room, but was taken hostage by Locke. As Tom knocked on the door, Locke took Alex into a closet just before Tom and Richard Alpert entered. After they left, Alex retrieved Sayid's pack, which contained Locke's C-4, as she was told. Sayid told her that she looked like her mother, and she replied that her mother was dead. Sayid responded, "I'm sure that's what they told you", leaving Alex shocked and confused.

While accompanying Locke to the submarine, Alex warned him that Ben was manipulating him, but he didn't seem to care. Danielle saw Alex from the forest around this time, but did not reveal herself to her daughter. ("The Man from Tallahassee")

As Ben and Locke collected water on their way to see Jacob, Alex arrived to give Locke a gun so he would be safe, much to Ben's surprise. She coldly added, "Happy Birthday, Dad", as she left. Later, Alex watched Locke and Ben leave when they walked to Jacob's cabin. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

The following day, Alex prepared a white rabbit. When she saw Ben arrive back at the camp, she questioned him as to what happened, and where Locke was. Ben gave her back the gun she originally loaned Locke, saying, "Here's your gun back." Afterwards, Alex listened to Ben's abrupt change of plans, and ran off to find her boyfriend, Karl. Alex told him to warn the survivors as soon as possible that the Others were coming. Alex questioned whether Ben was truly her father during this meeting with Karl. ("Greatest Hits")

When Ben decided to go by himself to stop Jack from using the satellite phone, Alex asked to go with him, and to her surprise, Ben agreed. While they were on their way to intercept the survivors, Ben clarified that he allowed Alex to come along because he has chosen to disown her as retribution for her betrayal, and she would remain with her "new family". He also told her that the reason he locked Karl in a cage was that he didn't want him getting her pregnant. After Ben failed to dissuade Jack from carrying out his plan and got beaten by Jack for seemingly having Sayid, Jin, and Bernard killed, Alex saw Danielle for the first time, and the bleeding Ben told Alex that Danielle was her mother. Danielle's first statement after the reunion was a request for Alex to help her tie Ben up. Together, they then dragged Ben along to the radio tower. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1")

The next day, Ben tried to talk to Alex in the jungle, but she ignored him, and Karl told him off. Later, after Ben shot Charlotte, Locke was prepared to kill him, but Alex protested. Locke told Danielle to take Alex away from the scene so she would not interfere with the killing. However, Ben's life was ultimately spared. ("Confirmed Dead") The following day, Alex came to the Barracks to reside with the rest of Locke's group. ("The Economist")

Later, Ben persuaded Alex, Danielle, and Karl that the crew of the Kahana were preparing an attack on the Barracks. Ben gave Alex a map led to the Temple. While en route, Alex, Danielle, and Karl were ambushed by mercenaries from the freighter, including Keamy. Karl and Danielle were killed, and Alex stood up with her hands above her head and yelled repeatedly "I'm Ben's daughter!" in order to dissuade the unseen attackers from shooting her. ("Meet Kevin Johnson")

After her surrender, Alex was taken prisoner. The mercenaries brought her to the sonic fence where she was forced, with a gun to her head, to punch in the code. She begged them not to hurt the survivors, as a baby was with them. Later, Alex was brought back to the Barracks as a hostage to smoke Ben out of hiding. Keamy sent a walkie-talkie into Ben's house with Miles, and when Ben found out Alex was the hostage, he agreed to go to the window and speak with Keamy. Alex told Ben that the mercenaries had killed Karl and Danielle, and she begged him to save her. After a standoff, during which Ben - choosing the Island over his own daughter - stated she meant nothing to him, Keamy mercilessly shot her dead and walked away. ("The Shape of Things to Come")

Post-death

Ben, shocked with her death, unleashed the Monster to attack the mercenaries. As the attack commenced, Ben spent a few final moments with his daughter, showing that she was the one thing he really cared about. ("The Shape of Things to Come")

In 2007, while Ben was being judged by the Monster underneath the Temple, a more sinister version of Alex appeared to Ben (in a fashion similar to Yemi). Ben apologized to her, and she responded by grabbing his throat and telling him to listen to every word "Locke" speaks, or else she would find him and "destroy" him. This was later revealed to be the Man in Black in the form of Alex. ("Dead Is Dead")

Ben later confessed to Ilana that he can never forgive himself for choosing the Island over his daughter, and that he was sorry for killing Jacob, who was a father figure for Ilana. ("Dr. Linus")

When Ben, Richard, and Miles returned to the Barracks in order to collect C4 to destroy the Ajira 316 plane, Miles sensed something at her burial site, but wouldn't say what it was. Richard told Ben that it was Alex, who he had buried after he left. Emotional, Ben thanks him. ("What They Died For")

Flash sideways

One evening Alex stopped by the house of Dr. Benjamin Linus, a European history teacher at her school, after he failed to show up at the after-school History Club. She told him that she was hoping he could help her study for the AP History exam, and he offered to privately tutor her at the high school library the following morning.

At the library, Alex told Dr. Linus that she desperately wanted to get into Yale University, and he offered to write a letter of recommendation for her. Alex explained that she needed Principal Reynolds to write it because he was a Yale alumnus. She then shared a secret with Dr. Linus about the principal, asking him not to share it. Alex's secret was that she once heard the school nurse and the principal having sex on the school grounds.

Some time later, Alex encountered Dr. Linus and told him that the principal wrote her a glowing recommendation for Yale. The two of them both saw Principal Reynolds at that moment, and Alex thanked him for his letter. ("Dr. Linus")

After Ben was attacked by Desmond, Alex saw his injuries and, concerned, offered him a lift home with her mother, Danielle. She then asked her mother if Ben could stay over for dinner. After the meal, Danielle told Ben that he was the closest thing to a father Alex ever had, visibly moving him. ("What They Died For")

Many fans of the show initially assumed that Alex was a male, because Rousseau referred to her only as "my child".

The year of the Purge has not been firmly established on the show. If the Purge happened in 1992 (a year derived from a dream in "Cabin Fever"), it is unclear if Ben raised Alex from the years 1988 (the year she was born and kidnapped) to 1992.

In a deleted scene from the Season 3 DVD, Locke questioned Ben about Alex, accusing him of kidnapping her. Ben replied defensively, "I did not kidnap her, I'm just the one who raised her." When Locke asked why Ben told Alex her mother was dead, Ben replied, "Because her mother is a raving lunatic who slaughtered her entire research team and spent the next 16 years sleeping in ditches. What would you have told her? I mean, think about it John. Imagine how much happier your childhood would have been, if you had no idea who your parents were."

Karl and Alex's love story could be a reference to Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!" The main character, Alexandra, falls in love with but is unable to have a life with her neighbor, Carl.

Alex was born and also died on the Island. It is not known if she left the Island at any point during her life.

Alex is one of 8 supporting characters to have their name appear in a soundtrack title.

At Comic-Con 2009, it was confirmed that her full name is Alexandra Rousseau.

Witnesses of death: Martin Keamy, Benjamin Linus, Several Soldiers, Sawyer, John Locke, Miles